Dmitri Kulikov was born on October 29, 1990, in Lipetsk, Russia. An offensively gifted defenseman, Kulikov played just one season with the Drummondville Voltigeurs before being drafted by the Florida Panthers in the first round (14th overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

After being named the QMJHL's Best Defenseman and Rookie of the Year in 2009, Kulikov stepped right into the Panthers lineup, appearing in 68 games for the club in 2009-10. Though he missed 14 games because of a knee injury, Kulikov quickly became a reliable defender for the Panthers and though still a teenager, he averaged almost 18 minutes of ice time per game.

In Kulikov's first full season in the NHL, he amassed 8 goals and 19 points in 81 games for the Panthers. On June 25, 2016, Kulikov's time in Florida would come to an end. He was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Mark Pysyk.

Kulikov would spend one season in Buffalo, appearing in 47 games, while notching two goals and three assists. On July 1, 2017, as an unrestricted free agent he agreed to a deal with the Winnipeg Jets.

On the international stage, Kulikov helped his native Russia to a silver medal at the 2010 IIHF World Championship and a fourth place finish at the same tournament a year later.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

2007-08

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2

Russia-3

36

6

13

19

54

2007-08

Russia

WJ18-A

6

0

2

2

6

2008-09

Drummondville Voltigeurs

QMJHL

57

12

50

62

46

+34

19

2

18

20

16

2008-09

Russia

WJC-A

7

0

4

4

4

2008-09

Drummondville Voltigeurs

M-Cup

4

1

2

3

2

2009-10

Florida Panthers

NHL

68

3

13

16

32

-5

2009-10

Russia

WC-A

9

0

2

2

8

+4

2010-11

Florida Panthers

NHL

72

6

20

26

45

-5

2010-11

Russia

WC-A

9

2

1

3

4

-3

2011-12

Florida Panthers

NHL

58

4

24

28

36

-5

7

0

1

1

4

2012-13

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

KHL

22

3

4

7

28

-8

2012-13

Florida Panthers

NHL

34

3

7

10

22

-5

2013-14

Florida Panthers

NHL

81

8

11

19

66

-26

2014-15

Florida Panthers

NHL

73

3

19

22

48

0

2014-15

Russia

WC-A

10

0

2

2

8

+8

2015-16

Florida Panthers

NHL

74

1

16

17

51

+8

6

1

3

4

4

2016-17

Buffalo Sabres

NHL

47

2

3

5

26

-26

NHL Totals

507

30

113

143

326

13

1

4

5

8

QMJHL All-Rookie Team (2009) QMJHL First All-Star Team (2009) QMJHL Rookie of the Year (2009) Canadian Major Junior Second All-Star Team (2009) Canadian Major Junior All-Rookie Team (2009)